Machines for folding and inserting documents are industrial machines well known in the art.
European Patent Application No. 0 700 794 to PITNEY BOWES describes such a machine, which conventionally comprises document feeders, an empty envelope feeder and an advertizing insert feeder. As specified in column 1, lines 13 to 17 of this Application, the folding/inserting machine market is a highly competitive one in which any innovation, however small, is capable of influencing the behaviour of the purchasers. However, it will be noted that this machine is fairly voluminous and, by its design, with substantially horizontal tubs, it allows only a low capacity of loading of articles to be mailed. Applicants have therefore developed machines allowing much higher loading capacities. Two embodiments of such machines are given in European Patent EP 352 292 and French Patent Application FR 2 757 841. In addition, Applicants disclosed in their French Patent Application FR 97 13053 a novel architecture for the conveying paths of these machines, which are more reliable (particularly by limiting the sources of jamming) and present better performances.
However, it has appeared that, under certain particular conditions of use, this latter type of machine, like the earlier ones (cf. for example EP 0 700 794) might still present limitations. For example, it is, in practice, virtually impossible to insert both a reply envelope and an insert into the same empty envelope. In effect, the placing of such an article for mailing combining these two types of documents in an envelope supposes the use of a document feed tub by way of insert feeder (if the reserved path is for example used for a supply of reply envelopes), which presents at least three major drawbacks. Firstly, this modus operandi considerably reduces the functionalities of the machine by limiting the possibilities of combined feed of documents by the prevention of any simultaneous automatic operational mode. The document feed tubs, by their physical structures (in particular the dimensions of the margin stops and the drive means), cannot receive documents of too small a format, i.e. in practice a format smaller than format A5. Finally, the insertion of the insert is in that case no longer effected directly without fold in the insertion module, but after folds are made through the folding module, which raises a serious problem when this insert is made of cardboard.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a folding and/or inserting machine which allows such a combined insertion of reply envelopes and of inserts in the same empty envelope without presenting the drawbacks set forth hereinabove. A further object of the invention is to propose a machine which presents an increased capacity of loading.